Card actuated switch combination

ABSTRACT

A card initiated actuator comprising a combination of switches preset at either closed or open position for causing operation of a selected actuator when switch positions are reversed by projections on a card acting on respective moving pin tumblers. A switch arm at the exit end of a card slot is tripped by pushing a card against it thereby to start an electric motor which rotates a pair of rollers between which the card is thereby drawn. A second pair of rollers receive the card from the first pair of rollers and mutilate it so that it cannot again be used, before passing it to a collecting box.

United States Patent Inventor Clarence L. Ellefson Burbank, Calif.

Appl, No. 881,827

Filed Dec. 3, 1969 Patented Oct. 12, 197 l Assignee Park-O-Matic Mfg.,Inc.

Burbank, Calil.

CARD ACTUATED SWITCH COMBINATION 7 Claims, 8 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 200/46, 241/101 Int. Cl 1101b 43/08 Field of Search 200/46Primary Examiner-R. F. Staubly Attorney-Beehler and Arant ABSTRACT: Acard initiated actuator comprising a combination of switches preset ateither closed or open position for causing operation of a selectedactuator when switch positions are reversed by projections on a cardacting on respective moving pin tumblers. A switch arm at the exit endof a card slot is tripped by pushing a card against it thereby to startan electric motor which rotates a pair of rollers between which the cardis thereby drawn. A second pair of rollers receive the card from thefirst pair of rollers and mutilate it so that it cannot again be used,before passing it to a collecting box.

CARD ACTUATED SWITCH COMBINATION Although tumbler locks, frequentlycalled pin tumbler locks, which make use of pin settings adapted tocoincide with a shear line, have long been in vogue, development haslargely been confined to substantially conventional lock construction.Such departures as have been undertaken to substitute cards, paper tapesor other types of flat objects for the conventional key, have found onlymodest acceptance which is due in all probability to a combination offactors including limitations in the card or tape itself as a locking orreleasing device, as well as limitations in the locking or unlockingstructure which make manipulation by card, tape, ribbon or the likeundependable, or perhaps which require a relatively expensive trippingmechanism.

It is therefore among the objects of the invention to provide a new andimproved card actuated switch combination of such construction that arelatively simple key combination card can be made use of to perform anyone of a great assortment of actuating functions.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved cardactuated switch mechanism which is simple and positive in itsconstruction and which is of such character that it can be made tooperate with relatively simple cards, without prospect of occasionalfailure.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a new and improvedcard actuated switch device wherein special mechanism takes possessionof the card after it has been in serted in the device and afterwithdrawing it from reach deposits it in an appropriate inaccessiblesealed container.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a new and improvedcard actuated switch combination wherein, once a card has been used totrigger the switch combination, the card is pulled into the machine andthen mutilated or destroyed to such an extent that it can not again beused. With these and other objects in view, the invention consists inthe construction, arrangement, and combination of the various parts ofthe device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, ashereinafter set forth, pointed out in the appended claims andillustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a typical card adapted for use with thedevice.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the device showing the card about to beinserted.

FIG. 3 is a front end elevational view on the line 33 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view on the line 4-4 ofFIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view on the line 55 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the card advancingmechanism.

FIG. 7 is a front elevational view of a second form of the device.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view on the line 8-8 ofFIG. 7.

In an embodiment of the invention chosen for the purpose of illustrationthere is shown a card initiated actuator combination including a frame10 on the right side of which is mounted an assembly 11 for handling acard 12 and on the left side of which is mounted an electric motorcombination 13. The electric motor combination is substantiallyconventional and includes the electric motor 14 and a gear reductionmechanism 15 which feeds an output or drive shaft 16.

The assembly 11 features an upper plate superimposed over a lower plate21 forming between them a card slot 22. The card slot has an entranceend 23 and an exit end 24, as indicated in FIG. 2. The upper and lowerplates 20 and 21 are supported upon a bed plate 25, a flange 26 of whichis bolted to the frame 10 by bolts 27. Screws 28 hold the combined upperand lower plates in position upon the bed plate 25.

On an upper face 30 of the upper plate 20 are mounted three electrictrip combination switches 31, 32 and 33, all of which are part of aworking circuit (not shown). The precise number of switches may bevaried depending upon what actuating function may be expected of amultiple number of switches in combination. Three have been selected inthe present example as being a simple, typical way of making use of thedevice. Normal position of each respective switch may be either open orclosed depending upon the ultimate function which the switches aredesigned to trip. Naturally, a greater number of switches providesgreater opportunity for different combinations. An example is one wheredifferent cards like the card 12 may all be so designed as to performthe same function but at different times. Another example is one wheredifferent cards keyed differently may be such that the same assembly canbe made use of to perform a multiple number of duties.

Each switch such as the switch 31, for example, is provided with an arm34 which is located immediately above its respective pin tumbler bore 35in which is a vertically reciprocatable pin tumbler 36. Each of thesethree switches is similarly equipped.

The pin tumbler is of such length that it normally extends downwardlyinto the card slot 22 where it is stopped against the opposite wall ofthe slot. Lower ends 37 of the pin tumblers are rounded so that they canbe shifted in a vertical direction when engaged either by a leading edge38 of the card 12 or by one of the upwardly extending projections 39 ona corresponding face of the card 12.

The projections 39 on one of the cards 12 are so arranged that they willaffect the electric switches 31, 32, and 33 in some predeterminedspecified manner so that when a particular card is inserted into theslot, the condition of the three switches will be set accordingly,either open or closed as the case may be, whereby to cause someappropriate actuator (not shown) to operate in a preconceived fashion.

Simultaneously with full insertion of the card 12 into the slot, thecard is manually pushed against an arm 40 of a starter switch 41 for theelectric motor 14, the starter switch 41 being wire connected to themotor I4 in a conventional manner (not shown). Preferably the arm 40 ismade yieldable so that after it has been tripped to energize the starterswitch 41 it can yield to the passing of the card 12 over it as viewedin FIG. 6, while the motor circuit remains energized.

When the electric motor 14 is set in operation by closing of the starterswitch 41, the motor will operate the gear reduction mechanism 15causing the output or drive shaft 16 to rotate, thus to rotate a rollershaft extension 42 which carries a series of four sets of annulardriving treads 43, 44, 45, and 46, the driving treads being sopositioned as to engage an upper face of the card 12 as shown in FIG. 6.An idler shaft 47 is mounted parallel to the shaft extension 42 andjournaled in the flange 26 at one side and a similar flange 48 at theopposite side of the bed plate 25.

In operation a card 12 is inserted into the card slot 22 and pushed asfar into it as will bring the leading edge 38 into engagement with thearm 40 of the starter switch 41 at which time the electric motorcommences operation as has just been described. At some selectedposition of the card 12 in the card slot 22, the electric switches 31,32, and 33 are tripped into a contrary setting so that they will performthe function in combination for which they are set. Meanwhile the rollershaft extension 42 is being operated by the electric motor I4 and takeshold of the card 12, rolling the card between it and idler shaft 47, theidler shaft preferably being provided with a friction gripping tread 49.The motor continues operation for as long as the armature 40 isdepressed by the card which is long enough to have the card pulledentirely past the roller shaft extension 42 and the idler shaft 47.After this has happened, the arm 40 is freed and in response to aconventional spring action return changes the position of the starterswitch 41 from closed to open whereupon operation of the motor 14 stops.

Once the card is rolled free, it is adapted to slide down a chute 50into a suitable receptacle 51.

On those occasions where a card once used is to be destroyed, there areprovided mutilating rollers 55 and 56.

One mutilating roller, as for example, the roller 55 mounted upon adriven shaft 57 may be interconnected to the electric motor 14 or itsgear reducer 15 in an appropriate conventional way (not shown) with adelayed action in the starter switch 41 so that the electric motor 14will continue operation long enough for the mutilating rollers 55 and 56to pass the card between them and out into the receptacle 51. Teeth, orother appropriate means, are preferably provided on the mutilatingrollers to do such damage to the card that it cannot be used a secondtime in the device. The mutilating roller 56 may be mounted on an idlershaft 58.

It is also conceivable in view of it being possible to use virtually anynumber of electric switches which may be appropriately called tripcombination switches to direct actuation of a mechanism in response to acard specifically combinated so that by appropriate conventional meansthe mutilating rollers 55 and 56 may be physically separated from eachother, thereby to avoid mutilating that particular card, and then tonormally close thereafter for continued mutilation of all other cards.

As mentioned earlier in the description of the device many more tripcombination switches than three may be provided depending upon thenumber of combinations anticipated or the number of different functionswhich may be expected of different sets of switches.

To still further add to the possible number of electric switches usablein the device, the lower side of the card may also be used as shown inFIG. 8. To accomplish this, a trip combination switch like the switch 60may be mounted on the underside of the lower plate 21, as shown in FIG.7. The switch 60 is similarly. provided with an arm 61 operable againsta pin tumbler 62 in a pin tumbler bore 63, the pin tumbler 62 normallyextending into a card slot 22' as shown in FIG. 8. A shoulder orprojection 64 on the underside of the card 12 is thus able to shift theposition of the pin tumbler 62, thereby to cause a change in theposition of the switch 60, for the same or similar purpose alreadydescribed in connection with the electric switches 31, 32 and 33.

To make room for the switch 60, a specially constructed base plate 25'is used, extending at a substantially lower level than the lower plate21, and on which the motor switch 41 also may be mounted.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new in support ofLetters Patent is:

1. An electric actuator adapted to be energized by a card, said actuatorcomprising a frame having a slot therein having an entrance end and anexit end for reception of the card and a plurality of bores transverselydisposed and in communication with said slot, pin tumbler means in saidbores normally extending into said slot, an electric trip combinationswitch in operative engagement with each pin tumbler means, saidswitches being in a working circuit for performance of a selectedfunction, said card having shoulders thereon at locations correspondingto locations of said pin tumbler means whereby to shift the tumblers andthe positions of the respective switches, an electric motor, a cardadvancing means located adjacent the exit end of said card slot and indriven association with said motor, and a starter switch for said motorintermediate the exit end of said card slot and the card advancing meanswhereby to effect progress of said card out of the slot after actuationof the trip combination switches.

2. An electric actuator as in claim 1 wherein the shoulders on the cardare projections adapted to lift said pin tumbler means.

3. An electric actuator as in claim 1 wherein there are pin tumblermeans and respective switches on both sides of the card slot.

4. An electric actuator as in claim 1 wherein there is a collecting areafor said cards after they have been released from the advancing means.

5. An electric actuator as in claim I wherein there is a card mutilatingmeans adjacent an exit side of said card advancing means includingelements which receive, mutilate and discharge the card. I

6. An electric actuator as in claim 5 wherein said card mutilating meanscomprises a pair of rollers having card defacing elements on the surfaceof at least one of the rollers.

7. An electric actuator as in claim 1 wherein said starter switch has aresilient arm extending into a path between the card slot and the cardadvancing means and said card advancing means is driven by said motor.

1. An electric actuator adapted to be energized by a card, said actuatorcomprising a frame having a slot therein having an entrance end and anexit end for reception of the card and a plurality of bores transverselydisposed and in communication with said slot, pin tumbler means in saidbores Normally extending into said slot, an electric trip combinationswitch in operative engagement with each pin tumbler means, saidswitches being in a working circuit for performance of a selectedfunction, said card having shoulders thereon at locations correspondingto locations of said pin tumbler means whereby to shift the tumblers andthe positions of the respective switches, an electric motor, a cardadvancing means located adjacent the exit end of said card slot and indriven association with said motor, and a starter switch for said motorintermediate the exit end of said card slot and the card advancing meanswhereby to effect progress of said card out of the slot after actuationof the trip combination switches.
 2. An electric actuator as in claim 1wherein the shoulders on the card are projections adapted to lift saidpin tumbler means.
 3. An electric actuator as in claim 1 wherein thereare pin tumbler means and respective switches on both sides of the cardslot.
 4. An electric actuator as in claim 1 wherein there is acollecting area for said cards after they have been released from theadvancing means.
 5. An electric actuator as in claim 1 wherein there isa card mutilating means adjacent an exit side of said card advancingmeans including elements which receive, mutilate and discharge the card.6. An electric actuator as in claim 5 wherein said card mutilating meanscomprises a pair of rollers having card defacing elements on the surfaceof at least one of the rollers.
 7. An electric actuator as in claim 1wherein said starter switch has a resilient arm extending into a pathbetween the card slot and the card advancing means and said cardadvancing means is driven by said motor.